


Ranger and Wolf

by Wrena_Wolfkin



Category: Ranger's Apprentice - John Flanagan
Genre: Action/Adventure, Animal Ears, Animal Traits, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Wolf Pack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-03-21
Updated: 2013-03-21
Packaged: 2017-12-06 00:52:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 8,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/729790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wrena_Wolfkin/pseuds/Wrena_Wolfkin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Girls who look like wolves and rangers falling in love. Strange things are happening in the Rangers Apprentice world and Rin Wolfkin is in the middle of it. Gilan/OC Will/Cassandra</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Abandonment

**Author's Note:**

> This has previously been posted on Fanfiction.net so no worries of someone stealing it from me. First chapters were written awhile ago and I havn't really edited so forigive mistakes.

The woods were silent, interrupted only by the quiet cries of a newborn baby. A young woman sat panting, clutching the small child to her chest. Her eyes were filled with fear and sorrow. Her eyes shot around the clearing, looking for any signs of movement. Satisfied with her security she once again looked down at the whimpering child. 

The baby was beautiful. Bright green eyes shrouded by long eyelashes blinked up at the woman. The child’s skin was as pale as marble and her hair was the color of the shining moon. Atop her head were two petite ears that matched her hair. Her small tail was curled under herself showing her fear. The tips of her tail and ears were a dark grey color.   
The mother looked away from the small child and began to speak in hushed tones.  
“I’m so sorry that it has to be like this. I made a mistake in running away with that man. You are now going to pay for my mistakes. Please forgive me my precious Wrena. I love you, but if I return with you the baron will surely kill you. You are a creature not many still know of. Everyone will fear you. You will die a quicker and less painful death this way. If I returned with you they would torture you and me both. Good bye my darling.”  
As the woman finished speaking she turned and placed the child in a hollow under the tree she had been leaning upon. She placed a final kiss on her forehead and brushed the small ringlets from the child’s face. Then she turned with tears in her eyes and left the child to its fate.


	2. Found

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say here, please review as always :)

Only a short time after the woman had disappeared into the underbrush, the trees on the opposite side of the clearing began to rustle. The child’s whimpering immediately cut off. Out of the woods stepped an old woman dressed in ragged clothing. The woman was clearly a witch of sorts, for no one normal would ever be so deep in the woods while wearing a grin on their face.

Although the child had quieted it was clear that the witch woman had noticed something amiss. Her hawk like eyes scanned the clearing before alighting on the small quivering form under the great tree. The woman’s eyes widened at the sight of such a young child this far into dangerous woods. It wasn’t until she came closer to the shaking mass that she noticed the extra appendages. 

Any common folk would have walked away and pretended they had seen nothing. However, the woman’s eyes simply shone with the light of curiosity and kindness. She bent down and picked up the small child, carefully wrapping it into her own cloak to provide warmth. 

As soon as the child was safely cocooned in the cloak, and the woman had quieted its cries, she began to walk back the way she had come. As she walked the sun was setting causing the trees to cast long shadows. When the woman finally reached her destination the sun was just disappearing under the horizon.

The apparent destination was a small cabin, located deep into the woods. There was a small porch with herbs hanging on the eaves to dry from the sun’s rays. The woman entered the house and immediately went to a door towards the back of the cabin. Behind the door was a small room with a bed and wardrobe. The room was small with a look of peace and comfort. 

The woman approached the bed and carefully lay the child down. The small girl had her eyes closed and was breathing slowly. The woman quickly slung her sack on a hook on the wall before changing into night clothes. As soon as she was dressed she lay down on the bed next to the child and tucked herself into the bed covers.

Once the woman was satisfied she lay back and closed her eyes. However, her eyes were only closed for a moment before a small whimpering awoke her. She sat up and looked down at the small child suffering a nightmare. She pulled the child to her and comforted her till sleep claimed her again. She lay the child down under the covers once more.

As she settled down she whispered to the child reassuring words. “Do not worry my little one, I will protect you. You will not be alone again, for I will always be looking after you. You are a child of wildness and wolves. You are my precious Rin Wolfkin. You are mine now, my precious daughter. So sleep soundly knowing that you have found a home and protector. Goodnight Rin, my darling.” 

With that she kissed the child’s forehead before lying back down and letting sleep claim her. Both child and protector fell asleep with smiles on their faces, safe with the presence of the other.


	3. Story Time

The woods were quiet, and birds were nesting down for the night. The silence was marred by the sudden yell of a child. Inside a small cabin an old lady was trying; unsuccessfully, to put a young girl to sleep. 

“Pretty please with cherries, berries, and syrup on top!” The young girl cast a pleading look at the woman glaring down at her.

The old woman continued to glare at the child before answering her. “No, you are old enough to go to bed without me sitting with you and telling you stories until you fall asleep. My goodness Rin, you are already eight; you can handle sleeping without a story!”

The child’s eyes began tearing up and her lips began to tremble. “Mommy!” The child whined. Her eyes became huge and no one could resist the look Rin gave. Add to the puppy dog look the fact that she actually had ears and a tail and the effect was adorable yet heartbreaking.

With a sigh the woman gave in and sat on the edge of the bed. “What story would you like to hear tonight?”

The child’s frown immediately disappeared and she started bouncing up and down. “Tell me about the Rangers and Half Breeds!”

With a nod and smile, the woman settled down next to the girl and began the story.”Long ago, before the kings of Araluen, the world was very different. Creatures and humans roamed the land together. Some of the humans fell in love with the creatures, and thus, the Half Breeds were born. These creatures were different from any other creatures alive. They had bodies of mixed parts from their parents. Some were beautiful and others were horrors to behold. When the humans heard tales of these grotesque creatures they quaked with fear. The humans believed these Half Breeds were horrible and gross creatures. The hatred grew among the humans until they began attacking and killing any Half Breed they could find.”

At this point the child clung to the woman and looked up at her with confusion and fear clear on her face. “Why did the humans hate the Half Breeds? What did they do wrong?”

The woman seemed surprised by the child’s interruption, but answered anyway. “The Half Breeds did nothing wrong. You see, humans have a tendency to fear what they do not understand. The Half Breeds were something they had never encountered, so their instincts made them fear the new and unknown.”

Rin seemed to deem this a reasonable answer and nodded; telling the woman to continue. 

“Since the humans attacked all the Half Breeds they saw, there were less and less Half Breeds alive. After many years the humans advanced and soon the kingdoms were built. Few of the Half Breeds survived the rise of the humans; those who did lived in constant fear. When the first king took the throne, he assembled a group of men with extraordinary skills and banded them together to form the Rangers. As you have heard, the Rangers know everything going on in the kingdom. It is their job to hear what normal spies can’t. The original Rangers heard talk of the Half Breeds and went in search of them. When the Rangers found the Half Breeds they realized the horror stories were lies.”  
At this point the woman stopped and looked down at the child to check that she was still awake. Her eyes were met by large green eyes and ears that stood at attention. With a small grin at the child the woman continued.

“The Rangers accepted the Half Breeds and were able to convince the King to protect the Half Breeds. The humans did not like this idea, but since it was the king’s decree they could say nothing. Behind the King’s back, groups of haters secretly began to kill the Half Breeds. This caused the Half Breeds to go back into hiding. The King had not loved Half Breeds, so he ignored what was happening. In the following years the Half Breeds were not seen and the stories of the Half Breeds were dismissed as old wives tales. Now the only people who still know of the Half Breeds are the Rangers. Even now the Rangers will protect any Half Breed that comes to them.”

As the woman concluded, she looked down on the child and smiled. Rin’s head was on the pillow, her eyes closed in sleep. The woman leaned down and kissed the small girl before tucking her in. As she left she whispered good night and closed the door behind her with a soft click.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please review as always, notes are boring since these chapters are all being posted together.


	4. Death and Disorder

The woods were bright and happy on a fine spring morning. Birds were chirping and a young girl, about eleven years old, was skipping down a trail with a basket of mushrooms in her hand. 

“I sure hope mommy likes these mushrooms. Maybe she will make a yummy soup for dinner. It took forever to gather these; I hope mom isn’t worrying about how long I’ve been gone.”

The girl stopped skipping as she saw her cabin come into view. She immediately ran forwards, unable to wait to show her mom what she had gathered.

However, as soon as she opened the door she was greeted by a horrendous sight. Lying on the ground in front of her was her mother. As soon as she saw her mom the basket fell from her hands. She fell to her knees and began shaking her mother. 

“Mom? Mommy? MOM! Get up, you have to get up. Please, I need you. Mommy, don’t go!” At this she collapsed over the cold form of her mother, crying. 

After an hour of crying she finally pulled herself away from the corpse. If anyone had seen her eyes then they would have sworn she was a zombie. She stood up and went into the bedroom. There she grabbed her mother’s cloak and returned to the prone form. 

Bending down she wrapped her mother in the cloak. Then she went outside and around the back of the house. There she grabbed a shovel and walked towards a small flower garden. She began digging a hole. Once she was satisfied with it she went and grabbed a piece of wood and some charcoal from by the fire pit.

Using the charcoal she wrote on the piece of wood.

Here lies the dearly departed Anne. Mother to Rin and caretaker of the woods. May her soul rest in peace. 

 

She then stabbed the wood into the ground at the head of the hole. Then she headed for the house once more. She bent down, grabbed the body and deposited it into the hole. Then she picked some flowers from the garden and laid them over the body. Finally she buried the body.

The girl sat down and stared into space, not knowing what to do. The only thing she had ever done was live with her mother. She had taught her everything she knew. How to use a bow, how to fight with a knife, how to hunt, how to cook, and everything she knew how to do. She had no clue what to do without the person who had always been there for her.

Over the next two days she sat around the house. On the third day she finally broke down. It was too much for her to stay in the house with all the memories. She packed a bag of food, clothing, and other supplies. She then grabbed her dagger belt and tied it on. Once she had her quiver of arrows and bow she left the house, never looking back


	5. A New Life and New Family

(Flashback) It was too much for her to stay in the house with all the memories. She packed a bag of food, clothing, and other supplies. She then grabbed her dagger belt and tied it on. Once she had her quiver of arrows and bow she left the house, never looking back.

(Present) Rin had been traveling for two days, with no idea where she was headed. All she knew was that she had to get as far away from her home as possible. She had walked through the woods, and now had no clue where she was, not that it mattered to her. All she cared about was getting her mind off what had happened.

She had walked hard so she was panting by the time night began to fall. As the sun sank, all heat seemed to dissapear, leaving her shivering. As sleep began taking over, she found a small hollow under a tree where she could curl up. 

As the last of the sun’s rays disappeared behind the horizon, Rin closed her eyes and fell asleep. 

(Six hours later)

A howl interrupted the peaceful night. The Alpha female called to her mate. “I am here. Come to me.” The wolf approached the form she had dug out of the snow. She had been out hunting for the pack when she had come across a strange scent. It had been snowing for hours, but she could still follow the trail with her sensitive nose. What she had come across had been a surprise. Buried under a foot of snow was a young girl. She had the ears and tail of a wolf. Her scent was even that of a wolf. However, she also had human features. 

The wolves instinctive action was to run, however, she found herself approaching the strange creature. As she got closer she could hear the almost nonexistent beating of her heart. She found herself digging the rest of the body out without thinking about what she was doing. Once the body was free she did not know what to do. So she had called her mate. He was the alpha; he would know what to do. 

So here she was, waiting for her mate. As she was waiting, she heard a quiet whimpering and immediately spun around. The girl had curled up and was whimpering. Her body was shaking uncontrollably and she was saying strange things that the she- wolf could not understand. Once again, the she-wolf found her body moving of its own accord. The next thing she knew, her body was curled around the small girl and her warmth was being soaked in by the shivering child.

A short time later she heard the sound of paws on snow, and out stepped her mate, followed by her son and sister. As soon as the alpha stepped into the clearing his nostrils flared and his eyes widened.

“What is this smell? What is that next to you, Quantana?” He said, stepping around his mate. The sight before him made him freeze. He had never seen anything like this creature before. It looked like a wolf and smelled like a wolf. However she smelled of no pack and its fur was missing in patches.

“What is that thing? What happened?” His gaze turned to his mate as his eyes narrowed. Quantana’s eyes dropped to the ground in a sign of submission as she began to relate her tale.

At the end of her explanation she looked up to gauge her mate’s reaction before continuing. “Amarok, she is still a pup. If we leave her here she will freeze to death if other animals don’t kill her first. She seems abandoned; can we at least take her back to the den until she wakes up?” She cast large pleading eyes up on the black wolf. 

Amarok looked at his mate. His eyes then turned to the two wolves looking at him from the forest’s edge. The younger of the two was staring at the young girl; his eyes were huge and entranced. The older was looking at the ground, not showing any emotion. 

After a minute of awkward silence, a sigh was heard around the clearing. All eyes were on Amarok as he stood up and walked towards his Quantana and the shivering child. 

“Alright, we will bring her back and nurse her into health. As soon as she is awake we will question her. Until then someone will have to keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn’t wake up and disappear.” At this he gave a small grin and turned his gaze on his son.

“Felix, are you going to just stand there and stare or are you going to go help your mother bring the girl back to the den.” At this the young wolf’s ears perked up and his eyes widened. In an instant he had dashed to his mother who had just stood up. The second the girl lost contact with the she-wolf, she began to whimper. 

Felix bent down and nuzzled her cheek, trying to comfort the girl. Both the girl and the young wolf appeared to be the same age. Felix, with the help of his mother, maneuvered the limp body onto his back. Once she was secure he carefully began to head through the woods towards the den, followed by his mother and father, his aunt coming last.


	6. Family at Last

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter she talks to wolves. To clear up any confusion, she has base instincts that were awoken by the wolves and so she speaks and understands them without any effort or realizing she's even doing anything odd.

As Amarok imagined, the moment they stepped into the den there was a great commotion. 

Two wolves the same age as Felix (13 human years) were bouncing on their paws and asking countless questions. One was Black like her father with green eyes (Rika). Her brother (Claude) was a mottled black and grey with piercing yellow eyes. The male had a scar over his left eye.

An older wolf in the back came forwards to ask what the commotion was. This wolf (Zella) was clearly the eldest and respected. Her fur was missing in patches and her eyes were misty grey, showing her inability to see.

Two adult wolves (25 human years) seemed to shrink back from the excitement, showing their low rank in the pack. The male (Zolo) was sandy tan with dark black eyes. The female (Nami) was brown with striking blue eyes.

All eyes turned to the leader (30 human years) as he quieted all the talk. He was a magnificent wolf. His fur was pure black and he had deep green eyes. His mate (28 human years) was a dark grey color with blue eyes. Their eldest son, Felix, was a dark grey with red tints in the coloring. His eyes were a hazel color, one not commonly found in wolves.

Amarok nodded to Felix, signaling him to put the girl somewhere comfortable. As Felix walked away Amarok related all that had happened. Felix went to the back of the cave, where it was warmest. He gently laid the girl down in the most comfortable place he could find. Once he felt she was comfortable he curled up around her, hoping to help her regain her body temperature. As he snuggled closer he heard her whimper one word. “Mom” 

It was clear something terrible must have happened to her, and he found himself feeling protective of her over the next few days. Whenever he wasn’t hunting he was sitting by her, hoping for her to wake up. She was breathing evenly and her temperature was normal, and still she did not wake up.

The other wolves noticed his behavior, but chose to ignore it. Then, five days after they had taken her in, it happened. Amarok had just taken out a hunting party for some food. He had taken Quantana, Zolo, Nami, and Claude with him. 

It had been about an hour since they left that Felix began to notice a difference. The girl started mumbling in her sleep while tossing and turning. At times she had actually said full sentences that made no sense. 

He had been sitting by her, trying to comfort her when he froze. Watching as her eyes slowly opened, revealing beautiful green eyes. At first her eyes seemed unfocused. Then suddenly her eyes focused on his face and she jumped up, positioning herself in a defensive crouch. It was clear she was scared and confused. He immediately held as still as possible, showing he meant her no harm.

After a minute of standstill she finally calmed down enough to actually look at her surroundings. She appeared to be in a huge cave. It was clear this wolf meant no harm to her. In fact, his scent made her feel safe. She found herself unconsciously creeping forwards. As she got closer she saw his eyes widen and froze. 

Felix had been surprised by her movements, and now was afraid he had scared her. He put on an innocent face and began to speak. “Please don’t be scared. I don’t want to hurt you. In fact, I have been taking care of you. We found you in the woods freezing to death and brought you back here. My name is Felix. What’s yours?”

At this the girl hesitated, before she cautiously began to speak. “My name is Rin. Why did you save me?”

To this he replied, “I couldn’t leave you there, plus the alpha wanted to see what you were like. You don’t smell like a pack. Who do you live with?”

As he asked the last question her eyes darkened. “I don’t have a pack. I was raised by a human woman, but she is dead now. I have no one left to live with and no reason to live. I am alone.”

Felix’s eyes were burning as he fought not to just start licking her. He wanted to comfort her in some way, and finally he couldn’t stop himself. He leaned in and licked her ear. Her head shot up and her cheeks turned pink. “Why did you do that?” She asked

“You looked so sad. I wanted you to know that you are not alone anymore. I am sure Amarok will let you join the pack. We need more members and you are strong. Live to help the pack. I like you, so join us.” As he finished he looked into her eyes and smiled brightly.

A little later the hunting party returned to see the girl up and about. She seemed lively and happy. After a quick explanation by Felix, it was determined that Rin was to be the adopted daughter of Amarok and Quantana. So she lived with the pack, hunted with the pack, and became pack.   
The only difference was she preferred two legs over four. Instead of tooth and claw she fought with arrow and knife. Hey ways were weird but she was able to help the pack. She now had a family.


	7. Revenge is Painful

The rabbits ears twitched and its head shot up. After a minute of searching the clearing it went back to eating its greens. Unknown to it, there was someone watching it. I had been watching this rabbit for a few minutes and was beginning to grow bored. I slowly brought my bow up in a practiced movement. Before the rabbit could even lift its head, an arrow was protruding from its chest.   
I had been living with the pack for what felt like forever. I had tried to keep track at first, but had lost count along the way. My estimate was about two years. I knew my fourteenth birthday had to have past already. The weather was turning cold and it was clear that the winter was already moving in. I could feel in my bones that the first snow would come any day now.  
As soon as the arrow was off the string I stood up, knowing I would hit my mark. Sure enough, when I reached the rabbit it was dead. I bent down and carefully picked up the dead creature, being careful not to get blood on my hands. As I straitened up I felt a cold prickling on the back of my neck. It made me feel like I was someone else’s prey. I stood straight up making sure not to show any fear and let my eyes roam the clearing.  
After a second of close examination I let my shoulders relax and breathed a sigh of relief. No sooner had I relaxed than a dark shape dashed out of the tree line. The shape came hurtling straight at me, knocking me down to the ground. My eyes widened as I recognized the shape above me as being Claude. As soon as I came to this conclusion I felt a bit calmer, until I saw the hostile look in his eyes. His fangs were bared and he looked as if he was about to rip my throat out. His glare was so ferocious that I went limp and bared my throat to him in a sign of submission. I felt as if I was a pup begging for forgiveness and it scared me that Claude could seem like an alpha. Everyone knew that Felix was going to be the alpha after Amarok.  
As these thoughts flew through my mind in an instant, Claude leaned down and growled into my ear. “Finally I have caught you alone. You don’t know how hard it is to catch you away from that damn Felix. He follows you around like a lost pup. I don’t see why he is to become the next alpha. I am stronger in every way. The pack will be destroyed if we have him as our leader. Since there is not much I can do to change this fact I am going to take away every good thing he has. Since you seem to bring him joy I will take you away from him as well. If I can take away is lover, then maybe the others will see that if he can’t even protect his own female then he can’t protect his pack.”  
At this I stared at him unable to believe my ears. Had he just said I was Felix’s mate? Felix was like my big brother, not like my boyfriend. How could he even assume something like that? Claude must have gone insane. “I don’t know what you are talking about! Felix is my pack brother not my mate. I’m sorry you believe Felix will become such a terrible leader. I think he will do great as the alpha.” As I finished speaking I knew I had said the wrong thing.  
Claude’s eyes darkened and he gave a low growling sound. I wished I had not said anything; I was now going to regret this. Claude lowered his fangs towards my exposed throat. However, before he could get me in a position that I had absolutely no power, I twisted and was able to yank my dagger out of my belt. Quickly, I spun around and stabbed the knife into Claude’s foot. His pained howl echoed through the trees. I took the chance I had obtained to escape his grasp. Once loose I turned tail and ran, literally.   
I didn’t hesitate in my running to bother looking back and seeing if he was following me. I just ran as fast as I could towards our pack’s den. As I came in site of the cave, I began to slow my haphazard headlong run. As I entered the cave I noticed that the only person in the cave besides me was Felix. I had thought he was out with the pack doing some hunting. However, he was standing before me, pacing in clear anxiety.   
As soon as I entered the cave his head shot up and his eyes locked on me. The next second he was sniffing me from head to toe and licking every bit of skin he could. After a minute of this, my breath had evened out enough for me to tell him what had happened. As I finished explaining, I looked up into Felix’s eyes. However, instead of sympathy I saw confusion.   
What he said next made me more confused than before. “Rin, I am sure it wasn’t anything as serious as you said. You probably were just surprised by him and your mind made up these insane ideas in your confusion. My brother has no problem with me becoming alpha. If he did he would confront me, not do something as horrible as that.” With that he looked away from me, clearly agitated.  
What he had said hit me as hard as an arrow. How could he not believe me? I had believed he was the one person I could always rely on, yet here he was betraying me. I was so enraged and hurt that I turned away and headed over to my corner. I grabbed my few belongings, a backpack, cloak, one change of clothing that was too small, my bow, quiver, arrows, dagger, and a small herb bag. Once I had arranged everything in their places I turned around and walked out of the cave. I didn’t even stop until I had passed the scent markers at the edge of our territory. Around a mile out of our territory, I finally let the tears come and broke down into hysterical sobs.   
I had no home, no family, and nowhere to go. It felt like I was in the same situation as when my mother had died. I was once again alone, and it was not a pleasant feeling. Once I had calmed down, I stood up straight and began walking in a straight line. I had no idea where to go, but I had to start moving in some direction. So I walked on through the woods.


	8. Why Me?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rangers finally show! What you'v all been waiting for I bet.

(Rin's POV)  
I had been walking for a while now. I didn’t even know where I was anymore. I was getting to the point where I wouldn’t be able to walk much longer. Just as my legs were about to collapse, I finally found a decent place to rest. I gratefully sank down to the ground leaning up against a great tree for support. I had been intending to only rest my legs until I could once again walk. However, the second I was sitting and my muscles relaxed, my eyes began to close. I fought to open my eyes, but I was too tired to do anything other than let sleep claim me.   
I woke to a stiff back and aching feet. Why was I asleep against a tree trunk? Then slowly I began to remember everything that had happened yesterday. Claude was a power craving maniac and Felix was not someone I could rely on. I was alone again and had nowhere to go. With a groan I stood up and stretched out the kinks. I opened my mouth and tasted the air. I couldn’t find any familiar scents in the air and it would have worried me under normal circumstances. However, this only made me calm down a little. I wanted to be as far away from my old territory as possible.   
Although I didn’t smell anything from our territory I did smell something familiar. It was the smell of another wolf. However, this scent was a few days old so I was not worried. I scented the air again and smelled the path I had taken to get to my current location. I figured that must be the direction of my previous territory so turned in the opposite direction. I had no path to follow so I began walking once more.   
During my walking I caught two rabbits and finally stopped to eat when the sun was at its highest. After I had eaten my fill I took the remaining meat and put a sprinkle of preserving salts onto it before putting it into my herb satchel. Once I was once again situated I continued on.   
I had only been walking for an hour at most when I smelled something strange. At almost the same time, I heard a pitiful whimper come from the woods ahead of me and to the left. I immediately stopped in my tracks, not sure what to do. I could go back along my tracks and make a large circle around the area, I could continue walking and ignore the smell and sound, or I could go and investigate. Being who I am, curiosity got the best of me.  
I followed the smell into the woods and realized the sound had stopped. After only a short time I came across a clearing. As soon as the clearing had come into sight, I ducked behind some bushes for cover. The place reeked of humans, but there was another scent intermingled with it. I carefully peeked around the bush and looked around. As my eyes roamed the clearing from the safety of the bushes, I once again heard the whimpering. Immediately my eyes zeroed in on where the sound was coming from. My eyes widened at the sight in front of me. Lying on the ground was a small wolf pup. It couldn’t be more than a week old.  
My first thought was why a mother would leave such a young pup alone. Only a second later my question was answered as I almost threw up. Around the pup’s neck was a thing wire. The wire was so tight that it had cut into the pup’s neck and blood was soaked into its fur. Whoever had done this would pay. Before I knew what I was doing, I had stood up and was walking towards the pitiful creature.   
I had taken no more than five steps, when excruciating pain shot up my leg. I collapsed onto the leaf covered forest floor and lay there trying to figure out what the pain was. It hurt so badly that I was almost immediately in a delirious state. I would have just lay there forever, except for a noise that kept interrupting my attempted thinking. Finally getting fed up with the mystery noise I looked up and found golden eyes staring at me. As soon as my eyes landed on the pup, my mind cleared up.  
I forced my body into a sitting position and nervously looked down at my leg. As soon as I saw my leg I wished I had never looked. My left foot and ankle were covered in blood and torn up. Around my ankle and biting through flesh all the way to bone, was a bear trap. The trap was attached to a chain that was nailed to the ground. I knew that I had no chance of getting the trap off by myself. Just twitching my ankle hurt enough to make black spots in my vision. As these thoughts raced through my mind, I was once again interrupted by the whimpering of the pup.   
I looked back at the pup and saw that it was straining on the wire, trying to reach me. As it pulled, more blood stained its fur. I couldn’t just sit there and watch the poor thing suffer. I forced my body to move closer to the pup even when the pain made me want to black out. When I was finally able to touch the pup, I was at the end of my chain.   
I carefully reached out and stroked the fur of the sad pup. Its response was to push its head into my hand as if it as grateful to have a companion. I carefully examined the wire around its head and found that it was quite thin. After a moment of searching through my bag, I found my small cooking knife and brought it towards the wire. As soon as the pup saw the knife, it began to shake.   
Once I had reassured the pup that I would not harm it, I cut the wire. As soon as it was cut I carefully detached it from the pup’s neck. The cut around the pup’s neck was shallow, however, I knew that a pup of this age was very weak, and this small cut could mean death if infected. I quickly went through my herbs until I found a cleaning and healing salve. After spreading some around the pup’s neck. I wrapped a piece of cloth around the neck so the pup would leave it alone.  
I was growing quite tired of referring to the pup as the pup in my mind and decided to do a quick check. Apparently the pup was a she. I couldn’t just call her she or her, so I decided to give her a name. After some consideration, I decided on Fala, meaning crow. Her fur was as black as the crow’s feathers and I found it to be a fitting name. Once my mind was no longer concentrating on a name, I realized Fala was shaking. It was getting colder as the sun began to sink lower and lower in the sky. I carefully picked her up and tucked her into my shirt, hoping to give her some of my warmth.   
I knew that if I couldn’t escape from the trap soon both Fala and I would slowly freeze to death. However, the mixture of the cold and the pain made me weak. Plus, I had used up most of my energy freeing Fala from the wire. Slowly, I felt my body weakening and knew I was going to fall asleep. Unfortunately, I would never awaken if I fell asleep now. Slowly, darkness consumed me, and my last thought was that I had saved Fala, only to let her die. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(Will’s POV)

Ugh, why did Halt have to send me out on one of the coldest days this week? I had been riding for an hour now, and had found no signs of the man I was sent for. Halt had told me as I was finishing my dinner, that he had a job for me. Apparently a hunter was illegally killing and selling wolves. Halt had sent me out to look for signs of this man and told me not to come back until I had some information.   
As I was moaning to myself about how much of a demon Halt was, Tug gave a warning whinny. Immediately I stopped Tug and slid off his back. Looking at the ground, I noticed some boot prints leading from a small deer trail, onto a larger path. I figured this was a good sign and hopped back onto Tug urging him into a trot while following the prints. A short time later, I saw the tracks go back into the woods, this time with no clear path to follow.   
I once again slid off Tug and looked at the tracks. With a sigh I realized there was no way Tug could follow through this. However, I knew I had to follow the tracks. With only a quick command at Tug to stay put, I turned into the woods and began following the trail. I hadn’t gone far when the trees began thinning out, until at last I came to a clearing.   
However, what I saw was not at all what I was expecting. Lying in the clearing was a girl. However, it wasn’t the girl that surprised me. It was the pool of blood around her leg and the bear trap imbedded into it that made my eyes widen. I quickly hurried to the fallen girl and reached out to check for a pulse. When my hand was only an inch from her neck, something jumped out and bit me. It didn’t hurt too badly but I was quite surprised by what was biting me.   
A small pup was grinding its teeth into my finger. Normally I would have freaked out. However, I immediately knew why the pup was biting me. It was protecting the girl. After a few second s of staring at each other, it let go of my finger. The second I set it down, it disappeared into the folds of her shirt. I was amazed at how the creature seemed to disappear.   
After the shock wore off I once again began my administrations. After some quick checks I found she was still alive and seemed to be suffering from hypothermia and blood loss. I also knew that if I removed the trap here she would die. Since I was so worried about her health, it took a while for me to realize that something was different about her. When I first noticed the ears and tail I was completely freaked out. However, I knew I couldn’t just leave her here to die, so I ignored the strangeness for now. Instead of opening the trap I simply cut the chain and immediately picked her up. Once she was secure in my arms I hurried through the woods towards Tug.  
The second I emerged from the trees I practically threw myself and the girl onto Tug. The second we were secure I urged Tug into a gallop and raced towards Halt’s cottage. I couldn’t help but think about how I was going to explain this to Halt. Why did things like this always happen to me?


	9. What the Heck!?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for Will's idea of explaining things.....

“How the heck am I supposed to explain this to Halt!? I didn’t even catch the hunter! This is gonna be soooo bad…” Will was having a mental panic attack at the thought of his strict mentor’s reaction to his current… predicament. “What am I supposed to say? Hi Halt, I was following your instructions and found a girl with wolf ears caught in a bear trap and decided to bring her home. Surprise! Yeah, that’ll go over reaaaal well.”   
Will sighed and looked down at the unconscious girl in his lap. Her skin was well tanned, speaking of her time spent outdoors. Her hair was seriously tangled and matted with dirt and such, but the spaces he could see were a pale blonde, no, it seemed more white. Will quickly glanced at her ankle to see the quick wrap he had put around the wound, trap and all, to slow the bleeding until he could get her back to Halt. The wound had bled through, but it had slowed considerably, hopefully it would be enough.   
Will was brought out of his examination by Tug who let out a happy whinny and slowed from his fast yet steady trot. Even as Will looked up the cottage came into view and Abelard gave a welcoming call.   
“Guess it’s too late to make up an excuse, I just hope she’ll be okay.” Will thought as he easily slipped off Tug before gently pulling the girl into his arms and hurrying up to the cottage. He had just gotten up the first step before the door opened to reveal the very man will had been thinking of. 

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

(General POV)  
“Took you long enough, for a ranger this should have been a simple task yet you are out half the-“Halt’s usual criticizing was frozen as his eyes landed on the bloodied girl in Will’s arms. “Inside, quick.” He said briskly rushing to grab his medicine pouch and equipment.  
Will quickly laid her down on the table which Halt had cleared with a sweep of his arm. “What the bloody hell, never mind, get water boiling, now.” Halt ordered reaching down to remove the girl’s clothes and reveal the full damage.   
He had barely pulled back her vest when a flash of black darted out and latched onto his hand. “What the hell!” He shouted yanking his hand back with the pup’s teeth still embedded in it. Will, upon hearing the shout rushed over and saw the same creature that had attacked him before, though now he recognized it as a small wolf pup.  
“Don’t hurt it; it just wants to protect her.” Will quickly said, trying to prevent Halt from killing the poor thing.  
“Hurt it, it’s trying to chew my finger off!” Halt growled only to be proven wrong as the pup released his finger to nuzzle up along the girl. “Whatever, but if it bites me again I’ll have a new pair of mittens.” The gruff ranger harrumphed, going back to work.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
The next half hour passed in a blur of bandages, blood, and panic. The blood loss had been severe, and they had to be careful of every move, but soon the trap was off, her leg and other miscellaneous injuries were cleaned and bandaged, and she was wrapped up snugly in some of Will’s old clothes and tucked into his bed. (Halt had said that since he had brought her, he could lose his bed.)  
Now Halt and Will sat nursing cups of coffee, with honey of course, by the fire. Will was confused by the silence, expecting Halt to be demanding answers and interrogating him, yet there they were, sitting in awkward silence. Finally Will could take it no longer.   
"Well?” He asked staring expectantly at his mentor who had a far-off look to his eyes as he stared into the fire.   
Halt slowly turned to him, his eyes more serious than usual, which was saying something. “Well what?”   
“Aren’t you going to question me, something?” Will asked nervously, feeling uncomfortable with how Halt had shut down his emotions.   
“I can figure out what happened, and you made the correct choice. What my question is is why now. They haven’t been seen in years, so how could one have appeared now?” By the end it was clear Halt was no longer speaking to Will, and his eyes had gotten that far off look once more.   
“Who hasn’t been seen?” Will asked, breaking Halt out of his thoughts.   
Halt looked down at Will and sighed. “You would have been too young to remember it. This is a long story so listen well; I don’t intend to tell it twice.” After receiving a quick nod in return, he sighed once more and began.   
“There is a tale passed down in the rangers of a race of creatures that existed long ago, before the kings of Araluen, in a time when creatures and humans roamed the land together. Some of the humans fell in love with the creatures and gave birth to Half Breeds. These creatures were different from any other creatures alive. They had bodies of mixed parts from their parents. Some were beautiful and others horrifying. When the humans heard about these monsters they became afraid and started hunting them. However, once the kingdoms were created, and the Ranger Corps, there was an investigation. We found that the creatures weren’t harmful and tried to protect them.   
The king of that time pretended to agree but allowed the hunting to go on illegally. We rangers promised to protect these creatures. However, this hunting killed almost all of them out, and they were too afraid to come out of hiding. The last seen Half Breed was 20 years ago, and he came to the rangers for protection. However, a group of people learned of his existence, and after we had relocated him to a “safe” location killed him. Since then none have been seen and they were believed to have gone extinct.”   
As Halt finished the story he rubbed his brow ridge and took a long gulp of coffee like a drowning man air. “We failed them…” Halt’s eyes held pain and anger, but he closed them for a moment before looking down at Will once more.   
“Do you understand Will; we mustn’t let anyone else learn of her existence, she must be protected.” Halt’s eyes held a new fire that spoke of his conviction and Will nodded earnestly.   
“I don’t understand why people harm those they don’t understand. It’s so foolish.” Will said with anger and confusion.   
“Nor do I, now it is time for bed. Make sure you keep an ear out through the night in case she needs any help.” Halt ordered stretching before walking to his own room and closing the door with a squeak.   
Will quietly slipped into his room and sat in the chair they had placed next to the bed earlier. A few minutes later and his head was on the bed while he lightly snored. The last thought running through his head was “I won’t let anyone hurt her again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is the last chapter posted so far. I will try to update, but people on fafiction.net know I'm not very good at keeping to update schedules. I will try my best though. R&R!

**Author's Note:**

> Please review, although this is only the first chapter. Chapter by chapter reviews help me in the end. Thanks!


End file.
